Coup Drives Circle and their Teachers to Tortall
by Wrenren
Summary: When Duke Vedris dies of old age and his recent heart attacks, his youngest son Franzen takes control of Emelan by force. This causes Sandry, Tris, Briar, Daja, Lark, Rosethorn, Niko, and Frostpine to flee the country, heading to Tortall for safety. Will they be able to hide in a land of academic magic and change that has just finished its war with Scanra?
1. Flight in the Night

Near midnight, Niklaren Goldeye, the foremost vision mage and an adviser to Duke Vedris, the mage council of Winding Circle, and many others, burst into a small house on Cheeseman Street, using blaring alarms to wake his previous students. Lady Sandraline Fa Toren, a high ranked noble in Tortall and Clehame (the equivalent of a duchess) in Namorn, commonly believed to be the next in line for the throne of Emelan when her great-uncle, Duke Vedris would come to pass, was the first to wake, ripping open her door and running out. Briar Moss, the sole boy of the group and a former street rat and thief was next, running into the room with knives in each hand. "Niko! What the blazes is going on!?" Daja Kisubo, a former trader, was next to appear, looking apprehensive. Niko waited for the last of the circle, Trisana Chandler, a merchant's daughter, to arrive before answering. "There has been a coup. Franzen and his men have taken the citadel, we must flee." Sandry covered her mouth in horror, sagging against Daja. She knew that this must mean her uncle was dead, whether by Franzen's hand or his weak heart, weakened by old age and the loss of his wife ten years before.

Daja eased Sandry into a chair before turning to Niko. "What do we do?"

Niko sighed softly, "Pack the necessities, including food and water. No more than you can carry, we will have to go through the sewers. Lark, Rosethorn, and Frostpine will meet us there."

Tris spoke up "Glaki? And Evvy?"

Niko shook his head, "They were evacuated with the temple's children. They will be safer away from us."

Sandry spoke up, "Away from me, you mean. Franzen will come after me."

Briar frowned at her, "He would come for all of us. We are powerful and he knows we hate him. Any of us is too much of a threat for him to leave alone."

Daja nudged Sandry to stand again, "Now get packing, all of you. We probably don't have long. He has to know we'll be able to get warning." This was enough to get the four moving, each hurrying to their room to pack a bag. Ten minutes later, they rejoined each other in the kitchen, bagging up the most durable food they had, Daja and Tris also bottling water from the well. Another five minutes passed before that was done and they returned to the living room to meet Niko and leave. He looked them over sadly, but nodded and turned to leave, with them following close behind.

The journey through the sewers was tense, none of the mages relaxing for even a second, each rat scurrying by sounded like armor clinking, and drips coming from the streets sounded like boots splashing through the water. Fortunately, their home was relatively close to the hidden dock, and it only took fifteen minutes to arrive. Sandry immediately threw herself into her teacher, Lark's arms, needing comfort from the woman who she had considered a mother since she was ten. Rosethorn hurried them all onto the small ship, not exactly one to be overly concerned by emotion, much less at a time like this. They pushed away from the dock, Niko casting an invisibility spell over the boat and Tris forcing the waves to push the boat out to sea without the sails.

It took a tense half hour to get out of the Summersea Harbor, all eight occupants watching carefully for any defense. They passed a boat of uniformed navy sailors, but the boat did not see them, and they never knew which side they fought for. They were highly relieved to reach the Pebbled Sea. Only Daja was truly familiar with ships, having lived on one with her family until they were killed in a storm that sank their ship. She hadn't been on a ship since, but ten years was enough to never forget. Niko, Tris, and Sandry had sailed before, but only as guests, they had never had to work a ship. Frostpine was highly prone to seasickness, even getting sick in a little boat in the harbor. Briar had never had the opportunity, and Rosethorn and Lark had just never gone. Still, it was better than being murdered by Sandry's crazy second cousin. Tris quietly spoke up, "Where are we going? I brought some money and things to sell, but not enough to make up for a whole life."

Niko replied softly, "Tortall will be safest. They have a reputation for not dealing with unlawful regimes and a policy of accepting those fleeing from war, without the politics of Namorn."

Sandry winced softly at the mention of war in her home, but knew that it was the truth. The people would not react well to Franzen being in charge, and many would rebel. It would be brutal and bloody, and she felt guilty for leaving when she knew she was the people's choice of ruler, as well as her great-uncle's named heir, but she also knew that a fourteen-year-old like her, no matter how powerful her and her siblings' magic, would not stand a chance in the revolution or the post-revolution politics. If she did somehow come out on top, she would be forced to secure her position by marrying whatever older general was single and highest ranking. That did not appeal to her at all, and neither did being a figurehead that Franzen would execute to prove his position as duke.

Namorn wasn't a good option either. She was a powerful individual there because of her lands and the fact that the Empress was also her second cousin, but she knew that women were little better than property in Namorn. She had no interest in a husband any time soon, but she knew that if she went there, her cousin, Empress Berenene would be quick to pressure her into a marriage, and without her uncle's backing and the threat to the empire's western trade, she would not be able to refuse. If she was a commoner like Tris and Daja, it would be different, but as is, it was not safe for her.

"Will we tell them who we are?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to lose her family name and history, but at the same time wanting the anonymity and a new start.

Niko frowned. "Not unless we have to. Franzen will be searching for all of us, and our names are very noticeable. We will keep our first names, but change the last. Daja and Frostpine, you are a father and daughter, Frostpine, what last name?"

"Smith, of course. The worst anyone will guess is that we are escaped slaves from Carthak, trained in metalworking."

Niko smiled wryly, "True. Tris, you are Rosethorn's daughter, Rosethorn, last name?"

Rosethorn smirked, "Thorn. I will go by Rose, we will claim you call me Rosethorn because of my personality."

"That works. Sandry will be your niece, specifically your sister's daughter from a nobleman. He ensured she had clothes and an education in case something happened to his sons and he needed an heir. That will explain her mannerisms. Sandry, you will also go by Thorn, but use Sandry instead of Sandriline. It is a distinctly noble name."

Sandry nodded sadly.

"It is only temporary, my dear. Now, Briar will be my son. We will go by the name Carr."

Briar looked confused, "Why Carr?"

"Because carrots are good for your eyesight."

Everyone except Niko shook their heads in exasperation, but no one argued. Daja looked around, then asked quietly, "Where do we want to end up? Port Cayne or Port Legann?"

Niko replied, "I was thinking we'd head to Corus, that way we can hear any gossip about what's happening back home."

No one argued, so it was assumed that everyone was in agreement, and considering no one else had any better plans, they really were. With that settled, Daja volunteered to take the first watch, both to keep an eye out and to plot their course. Sandry offered to stay up too, not wanting to sleep after hearing such bad news. The others readily agreed and went to bed, Lark hugging Sandry again on her way out.

The night passed peacefully, Daja comforting Sandry once their course was set and the ship pointed in the right direction. She considered using one of Tris's rope strings to speed things up with the winds contained, but decided to wait til Tris woke in the morning, as they should be around the peninsula by then, and they would be much safer on the open sea.


	2. The Journey

p dir="ltr"The others woke early the next morning, and Rosethorn and Lark were first to the kitchen to make breakfast. Sandry felt better, but still not willing to sleep, though Daja was very tired. After a quiet breakfast, however, Lark and Rosethorn made them go to their cabin and sleep. Sandry was surprised to find that she was exhausted, and slept solidly until Briar woke her for lunch./p  
p dir="ltr"Three days later, Briar finally spotted land. He quickly pointed it out to Daja, who called Tris to remove her wind strings so that their speed wouldn't attract attention. Briar was sad that they had to go slow, since he hated being cooped up, even on a boat as big as this, but he understood the need to stay below the radar. Really, it would be a miracle if they didn't attract attention, eight mages, four adults and four children, seven with ambient magic and one with academic, fleeing from a foreign country. Work would be a challenge, because they were foreigners, and while the circle were more than capable, no one would want to hire fourteen year old foreigners. The adults would have better luck, but it still was likely to be less than ideal. He was just glad he brought several of his shakkans, and many herbs and cuttings. If nothing else, he could work on them and have Rosethorn sell them. Lark and Sandry could probably do the same, and Frostpine and Daja, but Niko and Tris would be more difficult. If anyone with any measure of Sight saw Niko, they would immediately recognize his power, and want to make sure he was properly trained. If he showed his credentials, it would give them away, but if he didn't, the official folk would not react well to a mage with his abilities with no recorded training. Tris was difficult because of her temper. She usually was very controlled, but her control had slipped more than once in the past days, due to being driven from her home. Briar understood why, but he also feared what could happen if the wrong people discovered Tris's abilities. /p  
p dir="ltr"Really, any of their abilities could be devastating. Tris had blown up a pirate fleet at ten. Briar had killed more people than he could count in Gong Xe. Daja could make metal weapons act on their own or fall apart. Sandry could make anything with stitches or cloth of any kind move however she wanted, even sometimes magic itself. /p  
p dir="ltr"He knew that none of them would use their abilities to hurt anyone on purpose, with the exception of self defense and sometimes revenge, though he had enough of that in the war. He shuddered remembering the corpses, and his nightmares of strange moving animal pictures and attacking snakes. /p  
p dir="ltr"Tris soon joined him at the rail, staring out at the slowly approaching shore. "I wonder what this will be like." /p  
p dir="ltr"Briar sighed. "Different, for sure. The people are supposedly welcoming and accepting in some areas, but not in others. I'm more worried about our magic. It's too different from theirs, and I don't think everyone will react well."/p  
p dir="ltr"Tris nodded, well familiar with this from her own family, who cast her out because of the strange incidents her magic caused. "Hopefully at least I can hide my magic. The rest of you can claim to just be talented, or maybe just be hedge witches, but weather manipulation is not easy to make normal." /p  
p dir="ltr"Briar nodded, "Not really fair to you though, Coppercurls."/p  
p dir="ltr"Tris shrugged, "It's better than what we would have got back home."/p  
p dir="ltr"Briar winced, knowing that whoever won, the circle would not have been unscathed. War was vicious, and rebellions and civil wars were worse. He knew that the thought alone was enough to hurt Sandry, but that seeing it would be even worse. "You were always best with money, maybe you could handle selling whatever we make and buying what we need." /p  
p dir="ltr"Tris nodded, "That would be reasonable. The only issue is that selling plants, medicines, cloth, clothing, and metalwork from one store will attract attention." /p  
p dir="ltr"Briar shrugged. "We attract attention no matter what we do. We can claim to be refugees from various places that banded together for safety."/p  
p dir="ltr"Tris smirked, "Not true, precisely, but not a lie either. I like it."/p  
p dir="ltr"A half hour later, they pulled into port, Daja using her magic to control the sails and everything else, and Tris helping a little bit with the waves, careful to limit herself to innocuous little waves. Everyone else stood by a station, pretending to work, despite having no clue how to dock a boat. They had learned the basics of sailing on the open sea the past few days, but not enough to truly help with anything that required precision, like docking. Fortunately, no one paid them any mind, though Sandry was nervous when she saw guards approaching, but Niko and Frostpine went to talk to them. /p  
p dir="ltr""You scheduled to arrive?" asked a guard, looking at a clipboard./p  
p dir="ltr""No, we had to leave because of political problems brewing, it was last minute." answered Niko. "Emelan, if you were wondering." /p  
p dir="ltr""We heard something, but nothing definite. Would you mind coming to the guardhouse to give a report of what happened once you're settled in? We need as much information as possible, as soon as possible."/p  
p dir="ltr"Niko and Frostpine shared a glance, "Of course, though do you know any good inns that could board a party of eight? Nothing too pricey, but not disgusting. Rose's niece can be . . . particular and I'd rather not hear it." /p  
p dir="ltr"The guard nodded, "You'll probably want the Hopping Pony. Don't eat there, but the rooms are always clean and the building is sturdy."/p  
p dir="ltr"The men thanked the guard, and he left. They returned to the other six, who had gathered by the mast to watch. Niko said, "Briar, take Tris and go get a cart. Not too expensive, but sturdy. Tris, make sure of the price. Briar, keep an eye out for trouble." The two nodded and walked away, Tris feeling unusually grateful for her family forcing her to memorize exchange rates and the primary resources of various countries. Thanks to this, she knew that she would be able to get a cart and two or three decent horses for one of her scrying crystals, though she would probably have to sell it to someone else and use the money for a cart./p  
p dir="ltr"Tris was right about the methods involved, though fortunately there was a shop whose owner happily purchased the crystal after Tris allowed her to test it. Tris had to shock the woman when she tried to keep it without payment, then claimed that it was a built-in security feature to prevent it from being taken without a generous price. The woman easily bought this, and offered more than Tris had expected, which she then haggled to slightly more. In the end, Tris had ninety gold nobles, and Briar insisted on readjusting his knives before leaving the store. Getting a cart was also easy enough, as they walked in just as another customer finished up, hearing his final price. It was reasonable, and Tris used this to get a cart and four strong horses for seventy five gold nobles. She got two saddles, for the horses not attached to the cart, for five more gold nobles, and they left with ten gold nobles to spare. Fortunately, the cart salesman had an assistant that he offered to help them bring the horses and cart back to the boat. They tipped him one gold noble when they arrived. Tris knew this was more than a normal tip, but it was the only coin she had and they had gotten a good deal. /p  
p dir="ltr"By the time they returned to the boat, the others had their luggage packed up on the dock, waiting for them. Niko seemed surprised that they had four horses instead of just two, but also seemed pleased. The cart was quickly loaded, and they decided that Lark and Frostpine would ride, Rosethorn and Sandry would go in the cart, and Niko, Tris, Daja, and Briar would walk alongside. It took fifteen minutes to find the inn, and another ten for them to assure the clerk that two adjoining rooms with four small cots each would be sufficient. She seemed hesitant, but gave in in the end, and they were shown to a nice section of the stable for the horses, and a place to lock the wagon's wheels in to prevent theft. Then, they went to the rooms, and found that while plain, they were pretty nice. The rooms were one silver noble each per night, and as a gold noble was worth ten silver noble, it was not too bad a price, especially for eight people. /p  
p dir="ltr"They broke up kids in one room, adults in the other, though Niko called them all in to the adults' room to talk first. "Frostpine, Daja, and I will go to the guardhouse now. I was thinking that we'd say that we'd heard rumors of Franzen being in town, and everyone knows he wants the throne, so Sandry's father, a noble, remember, arranged for a boat to be kept in the harbor in case something happened. One night, we heard a commotion, and saw men running around in armor carrying weapons, so we left as soon as it quieted down, waiting on the boat until morning and sailing away. If they ask how we know each other, we'll say we are neighbors. Daja, your mother was a trader, but she had to give you up because your father was not, but she still came by to teach you the trader ways when she could, and Sandry's father knew that, so he hired you to protect his daughter without having guards around to give away that he had an affair. We will claim to be sworn and magicked to silence about her father's identity." /p  
p dir="ltr"Frostpine nodded, "That would take care of it. And allow her to carry her staff. Rosethorn is obviously her aunt, and Lark?"/p  
p dir="ltr""Her aunt's lover of six years," Lark cut in. "I see no reason to hide our relationship, especially considering that anyone who finds out that story will gossip about that, and not anything else."/p  
p dir="ltr"Niko nodded. "That works. Frostpine knows her through Daja, and I will be her tutor. Briar knows her through this as well, as I like to tutor small groups, so I taught them all together." /p  
p dir="ltr"Everyone nodded, committing this story to memory, then Niko and the Smiths left together. /p 


	3. George Cooper

The three arrived at the guardhouse quickly, not particularly surprised that the guard had directed them to an inn nearby. When they entered, they noticed that that exact guard from earlier seemed to be giving a report. He turned around, and noticing them, waved them over. They came over, Daja a little nervously, though Niko figured that was fine, it would just look like a young girl in a foreign land. The guard led them down a hallway, explaining, "This has to go straight to one of my superiors. Foreign conflict can affect the whole country, and while this one is less likely to, given the distance, we still need to know who is in charge and under what circumstances."

He then opened a door, leading them into a room where a tall man with brown hair and hazel eyes sat at a table, dressed in practical but expensive clothes. Years of living with Sandry and Tris told Daja that this man was far more wealthy than he liked to show, either an extremely rich merchant or a noble, though she wouldn't bet on the latter. Most nobles tried to show a perfect facade in front of strangers, even Duke Vedris and, on occasion, Sandry. This man was relaxed and smiling. She was quickly brought out of her thoughts by his voice, "I'm George Cooper, you can call me George. I'll be taking your statements about what is going on in . . . Emelan? Was it?"

Niko nodded, "Yes, it was. I am Niko Carr, and these are Frostpine and Daja Smith."

A flicker of something like recognition, uncertainty, and curiosity mixed together crossed George's face before it went back to smiling pleasantly. "A pleasure. Please, sit down."

They sat down, Daja in the middle with Frostpine on her right and Niko on her left, leaving her staring right at George. "So, what is happening there? Our reports are . . . less than conclusive."

Niko sighed slightly. "Well, I guess it's important to note that Emelan's laws of succession rely heavily on the Duke or Duchess's choice. Any relatively close family member can inherit, even over a closer one, if the Duke chooses them."

George nodded, "I heard something about that being in the charter, but wasn't sure if that was true in application."

Niko nodded. "It is. Three dukes ago the duchess disliked all of her sons, and instead chose a great-great-grandnephew. Her sons weren't pleased, but the law was clear and the common people supported the nephew, so they didn't have a choice."

George tilted his head slightly. "You are very well informed."

Niko smiled, "I tutor a noble's illegitimate child in case he needs her for something. I have to know these things, even if her parentage stays secret like he wants, he still pays me to make sure that if something happens to his legitimate children he has a backup."

George frowned, "You approve of this?"

Niko shrugged. "Not the backup part, but at least this way she gets an education. Emelan isn't bad, but education is not crown mandated. Duke Vedris wanted to, but there have been some rather expensive problems the past few years which prevented it."

George nodded, remembering the strange reports he had received about the events and the role a group of four young ambient mages and their four teachers had played. He suspected that the three in front of him were from the group, and that the other five were with them, but understood that if the hints of a hostile takeover were correct, Lady Sandraline would be in danger if she attracted attention. "Is it true that the Duke named his great niece his heiress over his own sons? That sort of thing is unheard of here, I can't imagine why he would do that."

Frostpine nodded. "Yes, and she was the people's choice too. Duke Vedris's oldest son was disinherited for marrying the bastard child of a player, which the common people don't care about, but they know the nobles do, and he hasn't been around to make an impression one way or the other. His second son is well regarded, but everyone knows he isn't meant to be a ruler. He is a good navy member, and the people like him, I guess, but everyone knows he doesn't want to be duke. The last son, Franzen, is a brat. He doesn't believe that he should take responsibility for anything, but still wants to rule. He only sees the appeal of forcing everyone to obey him, but doesn't care about what is best for the people. No one outside of his group of paid friends likes him, and even they know he won't make a good king, they just support him for his money. Duke Vedris realized this, and because he cares about his people, he refused to let Franzen inherit. Between everything, none of Duke Vedris's sons were really suitable, so he chose Lady Sandraline. He also publicly announced that the order was Lady Sandraline, then his second then first son, then anyone else, but not Franzen."

Frostpine took a sip of water before continuing. "Lady Sandraline has actually been there when there was trouble. She was hurt in the earthquake, but still helped rebuild once she was healed. She also helped fight the pirates, getting injured fairly severely in the process. When the blue pox came, she worked herself sick making bandages and healer's robes. When His Grace had a heart attack, she took care of him, not his own children, and did most of his work for over a year while he recovered. She is highly respected, and has the experience needed despite her age from covering for her uncle."

George nodded, "Impressive. Especially considering her age and sex."

Daja bristled slightly, and George, noticing, quickly reassured, "I mean no offence. I just meant that it is often harder for women to gain public support, especially for a high government position. Lady Alanna and Lady Kel proved that, and Queen Thayet as well, I suppose."

Daja looked curious, "Lady Alanna, Lady Kel, and Queen Thayet?"

George smiled at her, "You haven't heard of them? The ladies are knights, and the queen is the first to be an active and equal ruler."

Daja shook her head. "I'd heard of Tortall, but nothing more than that it was west, pretty nice, and its ruler is a king."

George laughed. "There's a bit more to it than that, though you have time to learn more. Did you hear anything about how the Duke died?"

Daja frowned sadly. "He did die then? We weren't sure, we just heard the soldiers going through and left. Sandry's father warned us that Franzen was in town, and arranged a boat for us to escape if necessary. We left at the first clear sign of trouble."

George's eyebrows rose, "Franzen being in town was enough for concern?"

Niko nodded. "It was common knowledge that he wanted the throne." Daja and Frostpine agreed.

"So, basically, you don't know the recent events, but you do know that if Franzen is in charge, it was a coup?"

The three nodded. George sighed. "Thank you, this has been very helpful."

Daja looked down, "Sorry we couldn't help more, but Sandry's dad provides all of our income, so when he said go, we went."

George shook his head, "Not at all, my dear. What you've told me is more than enough, and more than most spies would be able to get when inserted after the fact. Spies will be able to find out the sequence of events, but Duke Vedris and the public's opinion will be hard to determine if there's a contest over the throne."

Daja nodded, and Niko and Frostpine smiled, standing. George led them to the door, "What are you planning on doing here?"

Niko shrugged. "We were going to head to Corus. We figured there'd be jobs for all of us."

George nodded. "We lost a lot of people in that blasted war, and it didn't help that half of the metalworker's guild was arrested for treason. It's setting everyone else back too."

Frostpine perked up, "Really? I'm a smith myself, a rather decent one. Where would I go to get a job?"

George smiled, he was right about them. "Actually, if you would be interested, Lady Kel is going to be building a place for those displaced by the war. There will be plenty to do, for you and your companions, and everyone is welcoming there."

Niko and Frostpine shared a look, and Niko shrugged, "We'll have to discuss it with the others, but that does sound good."

George smiled. "Well, today's Sunday, and Lady Kel will here tomorrow. How about I bring her around your hotel to discuss it Tuesday? At, say, eleven?"

Frostpine nodded. "That would be wonderful. We'll look forward to it."

The three quickly left, and as soon as they were out, George returned to his office to fire call the king. He called in his best mage, and had him make the call immediately.

King Jonathan of Conte answered quickly, turning and seeing George. "George! Any news?"

George nodded, "Aye, Jon. Our suspicions about Franzen were correct. I just had who I suspect to be Daja Kisubo, Niklaren Goldeye, and Frostpine in my office, they fled Emelan because of Franzen's troops in the city. They confirmed that Lady Sandraline is the Duke and the people's favored ruler, I checked with a truth spell."

Jon frowned, "Expected, but not encouraging. Any idea why they left instead of fighting? They are all extremely powerful."

George sighed, "Powerful or not, the children are only fourteen. They are talented, and most likely mature beyond their years, but a fourteen year old orphan who just lost her uncle should not be the leader of a side of a civil war. Her teachers probably realized this and took the children where they thought they'd be safe. The Kisubo girl told me that she didn't know much about Tortall, just that it was supposed to be nice."

Jon nodded. "I can't help but wonder why she came here though. She has a title and lands in Namorn, and her teachers and foster siblings have ties in all different places."

George shook his head. "Namorn, while a place Franzen would not want to piss off, is not a good place for young, single noblewomen. If she went there, she would be pressured into marriage in a month, tops. All reports of her I've received indicate that she is fiercely independent, and has yet to show any real interest in anyone."

Jon looked disgusted. "I forgot about that. It's bad enough here, sometimes I forget that other places are worse."

George nodded. "I can understand that. And it's getting better here, bit by bit. But for her, she probably figured anonymity would be the best protection. Plus, we're far enough away for Franzen to not think of immediately."

Jon nodded. "True. Well, at least we know which side to support if it comes to it. Though I hope it doesn't. Maybe just a trade ban? I'd have to talk to the Yamani and Carthakis though. But it's something to consider.


End file.
